Alkylphenolic compounds and bisphenol A contamination within a heavily urbanized area: case study of Paris

Abstract

This study aims at evaluating the influence of a heavily urbanized area such as the Paris city area on receiving water contamination by bisphenol A (BPA) and alkylphenol ethoxylate by-product (APE). Firstly, concentrations in urban sources were investigated. Therefore, in addition to wastewater treatment plant effluents commonly studied, wet-weather urban sources including combined sewer overflows, urban runoff and total atmospheric fallout were considered. The first results highlight significant contaminations of all urban sources (from few ng/L in atmospheric fallout to several µg/L in other sources) with clearly distinguishable distribution patterns.Secondly, the concentration changes along the Seine River from upstream to downstream of Paris conurbation were investigated. While concentrations of BPA and nonylphenoxy acetic acid (NP1EC) significantly increase because of urban sources, 4-nonylphenol concentrations are homogeneous along the Seine River. These results suggest a global dissemination of 4-nonylphenol at the scale of the Seine River basin. Finally, the relationship between pollutant concentrations and Seine river flow were studied upstream and downstream of the Parisian conurbation. As a result, the clear decrease of NP1EC dissolved concentrations according to Seine River flow underlines the influence of punctual urban pollution on Seine River contamination.Conversely, 4-nonylphenol dissolved concentrations reinforce the hypothesis of its widespread at the scale of the Seine River basin. Keywords: Nonylphenol, bisphenol A, urban sources, Seine River, atmospheric fallout, heavily urbanized area 2 IntroductionAmong the pollutants commonly pointed out in the literature for their endocrine disrupting properties, alkylphenol ethoxylates (APE) and the 2,2-(4,4 hydroxydiphenyl) propane commonly named bisphenol A (BPA) deserve special attention because of their global spread in the environment (Staples et al. 1998; Vethaak et al. 2005). APE, mainly composed of nonylphenol ethoxylate (NPE: 80%) and octylphenol ethoxylate (OPE: 20%), are widely used for industrial and domestic applications, such as lubricating, oil additives, detergents and antistatic agents (Ying et al. 2002). A reasonable estimate of the world annual production of NPE is around 500,000 tons (Ying et al. 2002). BPA is mainly used as a monomer in the manufacture of polycarbonate plastics known for its high resistance to shocks and temperature (plastic windows or greenhouses, car bumpers, baby bottles), and in epoxy resins used as food contact lacquer for cans and tin cans. Due to its uses, the world production of BPA was evaluated at about 3,000,000 tons (Vandenberg et al. 2007)While BPA is recognized as an endocrine disrupting chemical (Wetherill et al. 2007), NPE and OPE have been of rising concern because of their biodegradation by-products. Indeed, in urban or natural environment NPE can be biodegraded through oxidative or non-oxidative pathways (John and White 1998;Jonkers et al. 2001). Under oxidative biodegradation pathway, NPE turn i...

Contamination of soils by metals and organic micropollutants: case study of the Parisian conurbation

“…The patterns were featured by NP predominance (23-123 µg/kg.dw, d10-d90) accounting for 50% of APs. These patterns were clearly different from those observed in surface water or in total atmospheric fallout (Cladière et al 2013), likely as a result of AP degradation in soil. Actually, NP is the biodegradation end product of NPnEOs.…”

Modelling the fate of nonylphenolic compounds in the Seine River — part 2: Assessing the impact of global change on daily concentrations

“…In addition, all annual simulations are performed under dry weather conditions and do not considered the wet weather urban sources. Thus, the concentrations forecasted for the 21 st century could be punctually underestimated since combined sewer overflows and urban runoff are significant sources of nonylphenolic compounds in the Seine River during storm events, as previously demonstrated for 2010 by Cladière et al, (2013b).…”

“…These four sampling points 10 provide all boundary conditions required to simulate this transect. The analytical procedure, including sample 11 preparations and analyses (liquid chromatography coupled to a tandem mass spectrometry, UPLC-MS-MS), is 12 described in details by Cladière et al, (2013b). This method enables the quantification of 4-NP, NP 1 EC and 13 NP 1 EO concentrations in the dissolved phase of water samples.…”

“…Indeed, combined sewer overflows may constitute significant alkylphenol inputs into the Seine River 16 during wet weather conditions (Cladière et al, 2013b). Second, SA-WWTP effluent is assumed to remain 17 constant all over the year which is not entirely representative since variabilities of concentrations are observed 18 from a campaign to another.…”

Modelling the fate of nonylphenolic compounds in the Seine River — part 1: Determination of in-situ attenuation rate constants

“…11 Samples are collected from bridges in the middle of the river with 2 L glass bottles. The analytical protocol is 15 described in details by Cladière et al, (2013b). Briefly, the water samples are filtered through a 0.45 µm porosity proportional to the real concentration (the factor is not known because of the lack of pure standard).…”